A Complete Guide to Liability Claims: What They Mean for You!

Liability, or legal responsibility, usually involves negligence, or a lack of care. The level of responsibility varies, usually according to the tortfeasor’s (negligent actor’s) professional status, if any.

The concept of negligence is based on a series of cases, many of which date back to the 1800s, such as 1837’s Vaughn vs. Menlove.The defendant built a hay rick (or haystack) near the plaintiff’s land. Although the defendant’s hay rick had been built with a precautionary “chimney” to prevent the hay from spontaneously igniting, it ignited anyway. Although he knew the hay rick was dangerous, he said “he would chance it.” Consequently, the hay ignited and spread to the plaintiff’s land, burning down two of the plaintiff’s cottages. A jury concluded that the defendant “was [duty] bound to proceed with such reasonable caution as a prudent man would have exercised under such circumstances.”

Today, if any form of negligence causes injury, a Personal Injury Attorney California can obtain substantial compensation in court. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are available as well, in some extreme circumstances.

Reasonable Care

Most drivers and property owners have a duty of reasonable care. Generally, motorists must drive defensively and avoid accidents if possible. If a breach of duty causes injury, the tortfeasor is liable for damages. Common breaches of duty include:

• Aggressive Driving: Speeding is the most common, and most dangerous, form of aggressive driving. Excessive velocity increases the risk of a car crash and the force in an ensuing collision. Other kinds of aggressive driving include turning unsafely, failing to yield the right-of-way, and tailgating.
• Operator Impairment: Alcohol impairment, the most common form of driver impairment, declined steadily from the mid 1990s until coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

When roads emptied, drivers picked up bad habits, like drinking and driving. This bad habit, like many others, has proven to be easy to form and hard to break. Other kinds of driver impairment include drowsy driving and stoned driving.

Most property owners have a duty of reasonable care as well. This duty applies in liability claims such as swimming pool drownings, falls, and assaults. In this context, reasonable care usually means creating and maintaining a safe and secure environment. The precise duty of care varies, according to such factors as:

• Type of business,
• Likelihood of serious injury,
• Owner’s knowledge of the hazard, and
• Cost of preventing injury.

Premises liability claims in grocery stores and other public buildings are usually quite complex, mostly because out-of-state conglomerates often legally own these facilities.

Utmost Care

This level of negligence applies to professional drivers, such as bus drivers, Uber drivers, and truck drivers. A duty of utmost case is one step above a duty of reasonable care.

Tailgating, a form of aggressive driving, is a good example. Noncommercial drivers with a duty of reasonable care must stay about two seconds behind the vehicles in front of them. Commercial drivers with a duty of utmost care must stay about seven seconds behind the vehicles in front of them.

This difference often looms large in Uber accident cases. Many Uber drivers don’t stay back far enough because they aren’t familiar with the duty of utmost care. Instead, they treat backseat paying passengers like backseat social passengers.

These claims are also complex, mostly because a third party is usually liable for damages. The respondeat superior doctrine applies if the tortfeasor was an employee who was working in the course and scope of employment at the time of the vehicle collision.

On a related note, Uber drivers also have a duty to provide safe and secure environments for their passengers, just like property owners have a similar duty to invited guests.

Fiduciary Duty

Doctors and other degreed professionals normally have a fiduciary duty of care. Doctors must set aside all other priorities and only do what’s best for their patients, regardless of how much it costs or how much time it requires. Negligence is usually easier to prove in these cases, because doctors and other professionals have a very small margin of error.

Misdiagnosis is a good example. The overall medical misdiagnosis rate is about 20 percent. An 80 percent accuracy rate is a passing grade in a high school class. In fact, 80 percent may be one of the highest scores in the class. But 80 percent is a failing grade in medical malpractice cases, because of the higher duty of care.

The higher duty of care also raises the possibility of a punitive damages award. Usually, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Product manufacturers, like drug and medical device companies, basically have a fiduciary duty as well. Generally, companies are strictly liable for the injuries their defective products cause.

Consult Our Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Today!

Usually, a liability claim is an injury claim. For a free consultation with Premises Liability Attorneys California, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.

Credit: Photo by Midjourney